Somare under scrutiny over Cairns property purchases

Fri 7 Nov 2008, 3:14 PM AEDT

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister says he has nothing to hide over property purchases made by him and his son in Cairns in the past two years.

PNG's Ombudsman Commission said it would investigate to see if Sir Michael Somare, who bought a $350,000 Cairns apartment, and his son Arthur, who spent $685,000 on a beachside home, had breached the country's leadership code.

In a statement, Sir Michael said he had nothing to hide and that the purchases were cleared by relevant PNG and Australian authorities.

State Enterprise Minister Arthur Somare also rejected allegations of wrong doing at an unrelated press conference.

Deputy Opposition leader Bart Philemon has called upon the Somares to explain how they funded the properties.